McAfee SiteAdvisor - Free protection from malware and spyware

Posted on February 13, 2008 at 8:45 am

Want to protect yourself against computer malware, spyware and viruses? I’m sure we all like to think that we’re too sophisticated to fall for email scams or be tricked into opening virus-laden attachments. Why, the last time we made a dumb move like that was way back in the year of our lord 2000 when we opened the Love Bug virus out of curiosity. Who loves me? we said to ourselves. Well, we found out, didn’t we? No one. But we’ve known better for going on 8 years.

But did you know that the biggest Internet security threat today isn’t getting a virus from an email? It’s having your computer turned into one of millions of zombies, willing slaves of nefarious bot masters, who use them to wreak havoc around the world and harvest the passwords to your bank accounts and other private stuff.

How do they gain control of your computer? You can pick up a drive-by infection simply by visiting an infected web site. And just like with people, you can’t tell a bad site just by looking at it. They don’t advertise their intentions and look just as legitimate as any site out there. So, how can you protect yourself?

McAfee SiteAdvisor works with your Internet browser either to warn you about sites that present a danger, or let you know that a site is safe. It does this by means of a system of testers that patrol the web to gather relevant security information about web sites. You can see the results of SiteAdvisor’s analysis in several ways. When you perform a search, you’ll see either a green, gray, or red graphic beside each search result. Hover over the graphic to find out more, or look up the site on SiteAdvisor’s own web site.

Downloading and installing McAfee SiteAdvisor is quick and easy, and having it on your system increases your Internet safety by leaps and bounds.

There are some key reasons to make sure you download SiteAdvisior rather than just looking up the site via the SiteAdvisior web site:

Firstly, when you search in Google, Yahoo, or MSN, SiteAdvisior will show safety ratings next to each of the search results.

Secondly, as you browse the web, a small button will appear in your browser toolbar that will change colors based on the safety ratings. You can also quickly go to the detailed site review and test results by clicking on the menu options.

Thirdly, SiteAdvisor does not just give you safety warnings for web sites, it also actively scans downloads for viruses or spyware! That way you can be assured that you are not downloading a program that will compromise the security or stability of your computer.

So look before you leap. Or sniff before you go over the cliff. SiteAdvisior is a great free tool for protecting your computer for all of the horrible malware and spyware programs out there today!

McAfee SiteAdvisor

This is a guest post written by Barry Mahfood from Barry’s Best Computer Tips.

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4 Responses to “McAfee SiteAdvisor - Free protection from malware and spyware”

Doug Woodall said on : February 13th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

I still remember when SiteAdvisor was on thier own, before McAfee bought em.
It was a great product back then too.

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February 13th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Best posts on Online Tech Tips from Febuary 2008 Says:

[...] McAfee SiteAdvisor - Free protection from malware and spywareWant to protect yourself against computer malware, spyware and viruses? I’m sure we all like to think that we’re too sophisticated to fall for email scams or be tricked into opening virus-laden attachments. Why, the last time we made a dumb move like that was way back in the year of our lord 2000 when we opened the Love Bug virus out of curiosity. [...]
March 4th, 2008 at 11:37 am
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March 23rd, 2008 at 6:03 am